5:37 PM,
Aug. 28, 2013

Jackie Stockton, president of the Friends of the Island Library, reads during Open Mic Night at the library in Surf City.

Written by

Paula Scully
| Correspondent

Margaret Hawke, a retired registered nurse and a columnist for Nurse.com (formerly Nursing Spectrum Magazine) from 1991 through 2006, wanted to connect with other writers, so she started a writers program at the Long Beach Island branch of the Ocean County Library.

"I was the program chair, so it worked out," she said. "It was slow going in the beginning."

The LBI Writers Group started out small but flourishes today. More than 40 people attended last week's Open Mic Night, a popular program these days for writers. ...